"People will spontaneously follow the rules in order to participate in the lottery."
With cleaner streets, caravans could move in and out more smoothly, and more commercial taxes could be collected.
Most importantly, those who drew salt and flour would also buy meat and vegetables to eat with them.
He pushed the stack of papers forward, placing it next to Su Yao.
"Using the Gan Family's money to pay for the entire city to defecate. A worthwhile investment."
Su Yao stared at the stack of rough pieces of paper.
That familiar feeling of trepidation surged up once again.
The man before me has a mind so calculating it's etched into the very bones.
He first punished the people severely, making them afraid to move, and then threw out a bowl of meat soup.
The people will not hate him; on the contrary, they will regard him as a living bodhisattva.
Su Yao became increasingly certain that she had married the right person.
She reached out and collected the stack of papers.
"I'll get on it right away. The pot for boiling eggs should be ready in half an hour."
To prevent anyone from taking advantage of loopholes, each person can only receive three lottery tickets per day.
Otherwise, some scoundrels might be able to collect hundreds of them a day.
Having said that, Su Yao stood up without any hesitation.
Gu Moran nodded.
My gaze returned to the window.
Those hooligans clutching their fines, I wonder if they'll be scrambling to occupy those fifty public toilet stalls in a few hours.
It was just past 1-3 PM.
A message seemed to have grown legs, creeping through the streets and alleys of the East Market and South Market and slipping into the cracks of every household's door.
At first, nobody believed it.
Until Old Man Zhang, the blacksmith on the street, walked out of the charity hall through the west door, holding a peeled hard-boiled egg in his hand and chewing it.
The egg yolk smeared a burnt yellow color onto the corners of his mouth.
"Here you go!" Old Man Zhang held up the egg in his hand to everyone he met.
"I was the first one to draw a ticket, and they gave me two!"
I went to the newly built brick house in the south of the city and peed. The gatekeeper gave me a red stamped piece of paper.
I had diarrhea and went to the toilet three times. I took three pieces of paper to draw a box and pulled out a white ball!
"I'll go every day from now on! I refuse to believe it, even if I slap him ten or eight times, he'll definitely give me my little piglet!"
The crowd erupted in chaos.
Half an hour later.
Outside a newly built public toilet in the south of the city.
The walls are made of blue bricks, and the roof is covered with tiles.
The floor inside was compacted with slag, and after being washed with water, there was no odor at all.
There was a long table by the door, where a retired veteran with an injured arm sat, holding a stack of freshly cut cardboard tickets in his hand.
Originally, there were only three or five people peeking around at the door.
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a dozen or so porters came running over.
They threw down their carrying poles and rushed inside.
"Don't push! Follow the rules! Don't dirty the floor!" the veteran shouted, slamming his fist on the table.
The porters came out, pulling up their trouser belts, and looked longingly at the veteran.
The veteran checked the tickets and found they were correct; each person received a paper ticket.
"There really is a ticket!" The porter clutched the piece of paper, his hands trembling.
"One isn't enough! You need three to draw the little piglet!" someone next to you reminded you.
The porter got impatient.
"I'll go pull it again!"
"Hey? Don't go into the women's restroom!! That stall next door is for women!"
"What? Women can come here to poop? Then I'll go home and bring my mom and daughter too!"
The entire atmosphere of South Market has completely changed.
Those who had been complaining about the harsh fines in the teahouse were now all gathered around the well.
A lean vegetable vendor held a chipped, rough porcelain bowl in both hands.
The well water was ice-cold, and he gulped down three large bowls in one go.
He put down the bowl, let out a huge burp, clutched his stomach, and started running frantically toward the public restroom.
" Old Li! Slow down! Don't let it slip halfway!" someone shouted from behind.
"Shut up! I'm definitely going to draw the yellow ball today! It'll be half a pound of flour!"
The man's voice cracked in the wind.
3:45 PM (Shen Shi)
Without exception, long queues formed outside all fifty public toilets.
The men who would normally relieve themselves on the street corner to save time are now stubbornly staying in line, their faces red and legs clenched.
There were even people making trades within the group.
"Hey bro, can I borrow a ticket?"
I'll share half of the flour I draw with you!
"Get lost! I'm just one ticket away from becoming a piglet!"
Tuoba Mang stood beside the long dragon.
He was originally there to catch people urinating or defecating in public, but now he's a security guard.
The two men grabbed each other by the collar, arguing over who would step across the threshold first.
Tuoba Mang strode over and slammed the jujube wood stick heavily against the brick wall.
"Let go!" he shouted, his eyes wide and his voice booming.
"Cut in line again, and your ticket will be confiscated! We'll even shove it back into your place!"
The two men shrank back in fright, quickly let go of each other's hands, and obediently returned to the line.
Tuoba Mang wiped the sweat from his forehead.
This is fucking more tiring than fighting a war.
The whole street was rushing here; this was a scene never before seen.
He turned to look at the group of women, and a smile immediately spread across his face.
"Oh my, isn't this my sister-in-law Baojuan?"
"Sister -Cuilan is here too?"
"Oh dear, sisters-in-law, don't rush, I'll help you, take it slow..."
At that very moment.
"Ah~~~~~"
A thunderous cheer erupted from the direction of the west gate of the charity hall.
The sound reached South Market, and the people in line craned their necks.
A thin, patched old woman, carrying a piglet in her arms, swaggered down the street like a victorious general.
The little grandson next to him called out to everyone he met.
"My grandma's smoking a piglet! A little piglet! A little piglet that can grow into a big pig!"
The queue fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even more frenzied commotion.
"That piglet went to the market and got half a string of cash!"
"That's my wife! Don't stop me, I'm going to get two more jugs of water!"
"There are too many people by the well! Let's go to the tea stall!"
Let's go to Mixue Ice City!
The people of Yi Prefecture City, for the sake of a piglet and an egg, have completely fallen into this carnival called "Creating a Sanitary City".
Night falls. West of the city, in a dark alley.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds.
The wind blew through the dry willow branches, making a mournful wailing sound.
In the shadows beneath the city wall, a dark figure silently slid down the base of the wall.
When it landed, it didn't even crush a single withered leaf.
Gerald Lalong straightened up.
He was wearing the long robe of Great Yan merchant, the wide hem of which covered his calves.
His right hand instinctively rested on the hilt of the curved sword at his waist.
The leather rubbed against the scabbard without making a sound.
He was the best spy under the Tubo chieftain Chisang.
This time, they crossed the border and sneaked into Yi Prefecture.
There is only one mission: to find out the residence of this exiled, useless Prince Yi and the troop deployment in Yi Prefecture City.
Lalong moved swiftly through the shadows in the dark alley.
The night in Yi Prefecture was eerily quiet.
According to intelligence, the city's streets at night should reek of garbage and filled with drunken scoundrels.
But Lalong discovered that the flagstones beneath his feet were so clean that there wasn't even a single vegetable leaf in sight.
A cold draft rushed into my throat.
Lalong's throat was dry.
Having grown accustomed to life on the plateau, he inhaled a breath of the damp, cold wind, and a tickling sensation rose in his throat.
He stopped walking, and a thick, yellow phlegm welled up inside him.
Lalong turned his head to the side very naturally.
"He~tui~!"
Thick phlegm slammed heavily against the base of the nearby blue brick wall.
The sound was clear in the quiet, dark alley.
Lalong had just stepped out with his left leg, before it even touched the ground.
"There he is! Catch him!"
"I knew it! Someone would be unable to resist at night!"
Two extremely sharp cries rang out three steps behind me.
[Thanks to: Lan for the inspiration capsule, Chen Qing, Gong Qiao and the boss for the milk tea, Jackey3 for the showmanship, Xianyu for the likes, Leo for the flowers! And thank you to all the lovely fans for your support!]